Four Oklahoma charter schools employ about 15 percent of their teachers from overseas using temporary nonimmigrant work visas, according to documents provided by the superintendent of the schools.
If Oklahoma teachers are being laid off, why are we as Oklahoma taxpayers paying people from not even inside our country to come and teach our children?”
Jenni White
Restore Oklahoma Public Education president
A similar chain of 33 charter schools in Texas reports that less than 20 percent of its teachers are from foreign countries using the work visas.
The independent school chains are privately run, but funded with state tax dollars.
The schools have come under scrutiny by conservative and tax watch groups throughout the nation, including Restore Oklahoma Public Education (ROPE), which can be defined as both.
“If Oklahoma teachers are being laid off, why are we as Oklahoma taxpayers paying people from not even inside our country to come and teach our children?” asks Jenni White, president of ROPE.
But the superintendents at both organizations are defending their use of foreign workers to fill positions for which there is a documented shortage in the United States.
“People who criticize us, they don't really know anything about our schools,” said Superintendent Soner Tarim with the Harmony Schools in Texas run by the Cosmos Foundation.
“As opposed to them (the critics), isolated groups, we have 16,000 students and so many parents, thousands of parents. We had 21,000 students on our waiting list last year in Texas.”
Kaan Camuz, superintendent of the four Sky Foundation schools in Oklahoma, said they always look for qualified American teachers before they start searching for international teachers.
“Finding a willing teacher for rigorous math and science classes is difficult,” Camuz said. “My teachers work a lot more hours than any other math and science teachers. They have to come in on Saturday and Sunday. To find such a willing teacher is really, really hard.”
The teachers come to America on temporary, nonimmigrant visas known as H-1B visas.
The visas are good for three years but an employer can apply for a three-year extension.
Of the 149 teachers employed at the four Oklahoma schools, 22 are here on H-1B visas.
Two of the schools are in Oklahoma City: Dove Science Academy, grades six to 12, and Dove Science Academy Elementary, grades kindergarten to fifth.
The other two schools are in Tulsa: Dove Science Academy, grades six to 12, and Discovery School of Tulsa, grades kindergarten to eighth.
The 33 Harmony Schools operated by the Cosmos Foundation in Texas employ about 1,550 and of those about 292 are using H-1B visas, Tarim said.
Teacher shortage
The shortage of math and science teachers across the nation has been well documented by researchers.
President Barack Obama mentioned the shortage in his State of the Union address this year, and Oklahoma offers a financial incentive to lure math and science teachers to the state as part of the “teacher shortage employment incentive program.”
Since 2006, 134 teachers have received more than $1.7 million in cash incentives for teaching math and science in Oklahoma public schools, according to information from the State Regents for Higher Education.
White, a former science teacher, questions whether there truly is a shortage of teachers. She says Oklahoma's certification process that allows professionals to get teaching certificates without returning to school has closed the need.
“Even if there were a shortage, with alternative certification you open up the ability to garner local Oklahoma teachers of math and science,” White said.
Temporary solution
Camuz said hiring foreign math and science teachers is a temporary solution.
Dove Science Academy offers graduates who major in math or science education a $500 per month scholarship to the university of their choice.
“I'll be really happy one day when all our math and science teachers are our alumni,” Camuz said.
Tarim said the Cosmos Foundation funds a similar program called “Grow Your Own Teachers” that will pay the four-year college tuition of any graduate who agrees to return to a Cosmos School after graduation and teach for two years.
The Oklahoma and Texas charter schools have a cooperation agreement for things like website design, student data systems and teacher training, however, the schools are run independently by separate nonprofits.
These schools are part of a growing movement in America, more than 120 charter schools that were founded by young intellectual Turkish nationals.
The charter schools are privately run but publicly funded institutions with an emphasis on math and science and a tendency to use H-1B visas to bring in foreign teachers.
Officials with the schools say the movement is organic and based on a love for education and educators in Turkey that carries over when people emigrate to the United States.
The officials say the schools are not connected or associated with a broader movement.
Social scientists who have studied the movement, say the schools are part of a broader international movement that has millions of followers and is based on the teachings of peace and interfaith respect preached by Fethullah Gulen, an elderly Islamic Turkish scholar.
Read more: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-charter-schools-hire-math-science-teachers-from-overseas/article/3570670#ixzz1NsgSYpiW
As a parent of a child who attended one of the Harmony Schools you better know that this corporation is in for the money. The classes are kept to an over flowing amount as this corporation tries to get the biggest bang for their buck out of every student. The school was unresponsive, deliberately delayed services and was uncaring in providing for my sweet, and kind child who was in special education.
ReplyDeleteThe teachers were poorly trained and in experienced.
Legally, all schools who get public funding are suppose to provide special education. This corporation does so at a minimal cost to the Cosmos Foundation/ Harmony Schools. It's probably is true that certain employees are paid a bonuses for keeping cost down. Their families takes regular trips back to Turkey and other worldly locations.
As far as the principal went I was not impressed. We would schedule meetings to discuss issues with the principal. This principal would make us wait an hour or two before meeting with us. Which is hard when you need to work or have other appointments to keep. He would not attend ARD's meeting for our child. My child was not receiving the correct help. My family does not have a lot of money. Harmony Schools are usually located in places were families do not make a lot of money. We can't afford a lawyers. I think harmony schools took advantage of us for this reason. We eventually left this school because it would not help our child. It's too bad there is not much government oversight.
This is a large corporation should not be opening anymore schools with tax payer dollars until they can fix their problems. They are probably failing in giving a good education to most students. Regular public schools have to absorb the cost of special education and the quality is going down. Harmony Schools appear to be misrepresenting themselves and are commit fraud in special education funding.
This corporation also donates to political parties/ candidates. It allows elected officials to come and speak in their schools to influence children and families during specific events, you would think would be more about past events and people rather than political issues. This corporation most likely is involved in moving local student funding for its more affluent schools. It looks like the Cosmos Foundation/ Harmony uses some schools as a way to build their reputation, while letting others schools just be they way that are. Beware too that this corporation is excited about opening a school in Washington DC, this next up coming year. My advise to any parent is to be aware of the issues and to watch carefully.
Harmony Schools do employ a lot of business administration, technology, math, science, and Turkish language/ culture teachers. The US is short , but the pay is bad too for these fields. It has been published in news papers however, that Harmony/ Cosmos Foundation were fined for employing foreign born English and social studies . They were forced by government agencies to re-think their hiring practices. Some advise for parents they should be aware of in that a lot of students' have a difficult time understanding these foreign teachers who are not even certified teachers and have little training as teachers. Most of these teachers are on a two to four year visa and do not appear interested in gaining a regular teaching certificate. Most seem like they would like to start a family in the US so their children can have dual citizenship and benefits. Therefore, it appears that many foreign person living and working in the US as teachers, is a hot commodity for marriage as it provides for ticket out of their own country. These foreign citizen however, still love their country and have every intention of returning wealthier and better off then when they left.
ReplyDeleteThese foreign people really can't be blamed though as it is a good deal to be paid like a doctor by your own countries standards. Its a good deal to have children who have an option of leaving their own home country when they are older and taking you with them if you want to return to the US too; if life in there own country becomes to rough.
Parent's should keep this in mind when their child can't understand well what their math or science teacher is saying to them and are forced into after school tutoring. Of coarse some children just struggle along and its easier to just past you child in these subjects provided they can pass the state standardized test at 48%. Not much different then a regular public school. Know that many may student's may lose interest in math and science altogether, due to these struggles though. So if you find your child is struggling and tutoring does not appear to be improving understanding much ... it might be a good idea to look at other options. After all you can't expect any school and especially a foreign corporate school to care more about your child's education then you as a parent. Parent's please advocate for your child and be fearless about it. I have had to learn the hard way that," nice guys finish last."